金大中氏死去 問われ続ける太陽政策の功罪

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Aug. 20, 2009)
'Sunshine policy' weighs on Kim Dae Jung legacy
金大中氏死去　問われ続ける太陽政策の功罪（8月20日付・読売社説）


Kim Dae Jung, who recently died at the age of 85, was the first South Korean president to pay a visit to North Korea, during which he held a historic summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and afterward was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
　韓国大統領として初の北朝鮮訪問で金正日総書記と会談し、ノーベル平和賞を受賞した金大中氏が８５歳で亡くなった。

South Korea's modern history cannot be told without mentioning Kim Dae Jung. Throughout his life, he was a constant presence in the midst of the nation's political turbulence.
　韓国の現代史は、金大中氏を抜きに語ることはできない。激動する政治の渦の中心に、その身をおいた生涯だった。

He became known the world over when he was abducted in Tokyo by South Korean intelligence agents and forcibly taken back to Seoul in 1973.
　３６年前、東京で韓国情報機関要員に拉致され、ソウルに強制的に連れ戻された金大中事件で、世界にその名が知れ渡った。

He then endured persistent suppression by the then South Korean administration, including imprisonment and house arrest. In 1980, he was sentenced to death on treason charges.
　以来、当時の韓国政権から収監や自宅軟禁など執拗(しつよう)に弾圧を受け、１９８０年には、内乱陰謀罪で死刑を言い渡された。

Without ever giving in, he continued to lead the democratic movement. Kim's courage was the driving force in ending that nation's military rule. Nobody can deny that achievement.
　それに屈せず民主化運動の先頭に立ち続けた勇気が、軍事政権を終焉(しゅうえん)させる原動力となった。その功績はだれも否定できない。

After he was elected president, at his fourth attempt, he led the nation to overcome an unprecedented economic crisis through drastic structural reforms. He also saw the country achieve remarkable breakthroughs in the area of information technology.
　４回目の挑戦で大統領となると、未曽有の経済危機を大胆な構造改革で克服し、韓国を情報技術（ＩＴ）先進国に躍進させた。

On the other hand, despite major steps forward, he was unable to settle some important issues he set out to tackle.
　大きな一歩を踏み出しながら、期待通りにことを運べなかった重要な課題もある。

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Triumphs and letdowns

In 1998, Kim, together with then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, signed a Japan-South Korea joint declaration, expressing an intention to seek future-oriented development in bilateral relations by putting an end to past historic issues. Kim decided to lift restrictions on Japanese pop culture, which resulted in a dramatic increase in exchanges between Japan and South Korea.
　金大統領は９８年、小渕首相と日韓共同宣言に署名し、過去の歴史問題に区切りをつけ未来志向の関係を発展させるとした。日本の大衆文化を解禁して、日韓の往来が急増する契機を作った。

But in the later years of his only term as president, the South Korean government requested Japan make further alterations to history textbooks used in middle schools, despite the fact that the books had already been screened once. This was apparently driven by strong nationalistic sentiments in South Korea. He thus failed to solve tensions over perceptions of history between the two countries.
　しかし任期後半、韓国のナショナリズムに押された形で、韓国政府は日本の中学歴史教科書の検定内容の修正を要求した。歴史認識をめぐる双方のわだかまりは解けないままに終わった。

In relations with North Korea, Kim's "sunshine policy" took a conciliatory approach, under which South Korea tried to persuade Kim Jong Il's regime to effect change through economic assistance. Such a shift in policy--from confrontation to coexistence--opened up new diplomatic avenues on the Korean Peninsula.
　北朝鮮との関係では、経済支援によって金正日体制の変化を促すという太陽政策を掲げた。「敵対」から「共存」への路線転換は、朝鮮半島情勢に新局面を開いた。

But given the current situation, which has seen North Korea step up its nuclear and missile programs significantly, Kim Dae Jung's legacy cannot avoid criticism that aid to North Korea only helped further its nuclear development.
　だが、北朝鮮が核とミサイルを格段に強化した現状を見れば、支援は北朝鮮の核開発につながっただけ、との批判は免れない。

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Whither inter-Korea relations?

What changes will Kim Dae Jung's death bring to the situation on the Korean Peninsula? It likely will be a big blow to North Korea following the suicide of former South Korean President Roh Moon-hyun, who also was an advocate of the sunshine policy.
　金大中氏の死は、今後の朝鮮半島情勢にどんな動きをもたらすのか。太陽政策を支えた盧武鉉前大統領の自殺に次ぐ今回の死去は、北朝鮮に大きな痛手だろう。

Following Kim Jong Il's reported expression of sympathy over Kim Dae Jung's death, North Korea reportedly intends to send a delegation to the funeral. Taking this opportunity, the two nations may look for ways to resume bilateral talks.
　北朝鮮は、金総書記の弔電に続き、弔問団も派遣するという。これを機に、南北対話再開を模索する可能性がある。

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak has pressed North Korea over the abandonment of its nuclear development program. He also has called on North Korea to begin bilateral talks for reducing conventional weapons. Lee's initiative is aimed at patching up holes in the sunshine policy, under which South Korea failed to take measures to ease military tensions with North Korea, despite the call for peaceful coexistence with Pyongyang.
　韓国の李明博大統領は、核放棄の決断を促し、南北の通常戦力削減協議の開始を提案している。平和共存を唱えながら軍事的な緊張を緩和する措置を講じなかった太陽政策の欠陥を補うものだ。

If the sunshine policy is to be seen as a success, it will be when North Korea abandons its nuclear program and engages in dialogue with South Korea for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
　太陽政策が肯定的に評価されるとすれば、それは、北朝鮮が核を放棄し、半島の平和定着に向けた南北対話に取り組む時だろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 20, 2009)
（2009年8月20日01時04分 読売新聞）